Apa Sherpa

Apa (born Lhakpa Tenzing Sherpa; c. 1960), nicknamed "Super Sherpa", is a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer who holds the record for reaching the summit of Mount Everest more times than any other person. He has climbed the mountain twenty-one times as of May 2011[update]. As part of The Eco Everest Expedition 2011, Apa made his 21st Mount Everest summit in May 2011.

Early Life

Lhakpa Tenzing Sherpa was born in the early 1960s in Thame, a village in the Everest region of Nepal, near the Chinese border. His exact age is unknown, but during a 2003 interview, he estimated it to be 40. Following his father's death when he was 12 years old, Apa had to take up the responsibilities of his family, consisting of his mother, two sisters and three young brothers. He dropped out of school and earned money working as a porter for mountaineering groups. His climbing career began in 1985, and he worked as a kitchen boy and porter for various groups but was not given the opportunity to reach the summit until 1990.

Personal life

Apa married Yangjin, then also a resident of Thame, in 1988 and has two sons—Tenjing and Pemba—and a daughter Dawa. The family moved to the United States with the help of his friend Jerry Mika for business opportunities and to provide better education for their children. They live in Draper, Utah.

In April 2009, Apa founded the Apa Sherpa Foundation, dedicated to the improvement of education and economic development in Nepal. When not on expeditions, Apa works for Diamond Mold, a precision machining and injection molding company in Salt Lake City, Utah that has also supported his foundation.

From : www.wikipedia.org